Report Alleges FG Paid Boko Haram N2Bn Ransom to Free St Mary’s Schoolchildren

Pat Stevens/

Nigeria’s Federal Government is alleged to have paid about N2 billion in ransom to militants linked to Boko Haram to secure the release of pupils and staff abducted from St Mary’s boarding school in Niger State, according to a report citing intelligence sources familiar with the negotiations.

The claim, reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), has immediately stirred fresh debate over Nigeria’s handling of mass kidnappings, particularly as the country maintains a law criminalising ransom payments to kidnappers.

The report said up to 230 children and school workers were freed after negotiations that lasted about two weeks following their abduction from the Catholic school in Papiri on November 21.

At least 50 of the victims were said to have escaped earlier from captivity.

According to intelligence sources quoted in the report, the government approved the payment as part of a deal that also included the release of two militant commanders.

One of the sources reportedly estimated the ransom at about 40 million naira per victim, roughly seven million dollars in total, while another placed the figure at around two billion naira.

The money was allegedly flown by helicopter to the militants’ base in Gwoza in Borno State, near the border with Cameroon, where it was delivered to a commander identified as Ali Ngulde.

Because of poor communications in the remote area, the commander was said to have crossed into Cameroon to confirm receipt before the first batch of about 100 children were released.

Nigerian authorities, however, strongly deny that any ransom was paid. Security officials insisted government policy forbids such transactions and dismissed the claim as false.

A spokesperson for the State Security Service told AFP that government agents do not pay ransom to kidnappers. The official added that while the government discourages such payments, families sometimes raise money privately to secure the freedom of their relatives.

Efforts to obtain comments from the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who reportedly led the negotiations, were unsuccessful at the time of the report.

The abduction has also been linked by sources to a feared militant commander known as Sadiku, believed to operate a Boko Haram cell active in Niger State.

Intelligence sources said the victims were held in a camp in Borgu Local Government Area, about 370 kilometres from the state capital, Minna.

Security analysts say the alleged involvement of Boko Haram highlights the growing overlap between jihadist groups and criminal kidnapping gangs across parts of Nigeria.

What began as ideological insurgency has increasingly turned into a lucrative kidnapping economy.

Vincent Foucher, a researcher on Nigerian conflicts at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, told AFP that Sadiku’s alleged involvement would be consistent with his history of attacks and abductions.

“It makes total sense, given Sadiku’s history,” Foucher reportedly said after speaking with both militant-linked sources and a Nigerian government contact.

Nigeria has faced international scrutiny over insecurity and the targeting of schools since the 2014 mass abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram, an incident that triggered global outrage and intensified attention on the country’s fight against insurgency.

The St Mary’s kidnapping came at a time when Nigeria was also under diplomatic pressure from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly raised concerns about violence affecting Christian communities in Africa’s most populous country.

Analysts and Nigerian officials, however, argue that the country’s security crisis is complex and affects both Muslims and Christians.

Kidnapping has become widespread across Nigeria in recent years, with armed groups targeting schools, travellers, farmers and villages in search of ransom payments.

Despite legislation passed in 2022 that criminalises ransom payments with jail terms of up to 15 years, families and communities often still negotiate privately with abductors.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project shows hundreds of abductions recorded within a single year, many involving multiple victims, underscoring the scale of the crisis.

Some analysts say the practice has evolved into a structured criminal economy.

A report by the Lagos based consultancy SBM Intelligence estimated that kidnappers collected about 1.66 million dollars in ransom payments between July 2024 and June 2025 alone.

Security sources also told AFP that as part of the negotiations over the St Mary’s hostages, the militants demanded that residents of Audu Fari village in Borgu be allowed to return home after they had previously been displaced by military operations.

The village was reportedly used as a supply route and transit point for the fighters’ families.

Government officials maintain that several hostage releases secured by the National Security Adviser were achieved without any ransom being paid.